2001–02 Leinster Rugby season

2001–02 Leinster Rugby season Donnybrook, Dublin Matt Williams Celtic League (champions)Heineken Cup (quarter-final)IRFU Interprovincial Championship (champions) 2000–01 2002–03 2001-02 was Leinster's seventh season under professionalism, and their second under head coach Matt Williams. The Irish, Scottish and Welsh unions agreed a format for the inaugural Celtic League in May 2001. It would involve all four Irish provinces, two teams from Scotland and nine from Wales, organised in two conferences. It would kick off on 18 August, with the final scheduled for 15 December."Celtic League gets green light to kick off in August", Evening Herald, 31 May 2001 Celtic league fixtures between Ulster and Leinster, and between Munster and Connacht, would count towards this year's IRFU Interprovincial Championship. The remaining Interprovincial fixtures would take place in April 2002.Aidan Corr, "Munster face into a hectic season", Limerick Chronicle, 24 July 2001 The "Leinster Lions" name came into existence during the 2001–02 season as the result of a joint marketing initiative between Leinster Rugby and its kit sponsors, the Canterbury Clothing Company. Leinster's first season in the newly formed Celtic League ended in success as the Lions were crowned the inaugural champions, beating rivals Munster Rugby in the 2001–02 final.https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/1712921.stm Leinster win Irish battle 15 December 2001 BBC Sport BBC 31 May 2010 Player transfers Players in ENG Steve Barretto IRE rugby union David Blaney IRE rugby union Niall Breslin IRE rugby union Keith Gleeson from AUS Waratahs IRE rugby union Gavin Hickie IRE rugby union Shane Jennings AUS Adam Magro from AUS Waratahs IRE rugby union Aidan McCullen NZL Nathan Spooner from AUS Queensland Reds IRE rugby union Niall Treston IRE rugby union Paul Wallace from ENG Saracens NZL Ben Willis from FRA Grenoble Players out IRE rugby union G. Dunphy IRE rugby union Gabriel Fulcher IRE rugby union Gary Halpin IRE rugby union Derek Hegarty NZL Eddie Hekenui IRE rugby union Colin McEntee IRE rugby union Mark McHugh to IRE rugby union Connacht IRE rugby union Declan O'Brien NZL Kevin Putt IRE rugby union Rory Sheriff AUS Nathan Turner Squad Leinster Rugby squadLeinster squad, 2001-02, Guinness Pro12, retrieved 29 August 2026Props ENG Steve Barretto IRE rugby union Emmet Byrne IRE rugby union Reggie Corrigan IRE rugby union Peter Coyle IRE rugby union Niall Treston IRE rugby union Paul Wallace Hookers IRE rugby union David Blaney IRE rugby union James Blaney IRE rugby union Shane Byrne IRE rugby union Gavin Hickie IRE rugby union Peter Smyth Locks IRE rugby union Niall Breslin IRE rugby union Bob Casey IRE rugby union Leo Cullen IRE rugby union Malcolm O'KellyBack row IRE rugby union Trevor Brennan IRE rugby union Victor Costello IRE rugby union Keith Gleeson IRE rugby union Shane Jennings IRE rugby union Aidan McCullen IRE rugby union Eric Miller IRE rugby union Liam Toland Scrum-halves IRE rugby union Brian O'Meara NZL Ben Willis Fly-halves IRE rugby union Andy Dunne IRE rugby union Emmett Farrell NZL Nathan SpoonerCentres IRE rugby union Shane Horgan AUS Adam Magro IRE rugby union Brian O'Driscoll IRE rugby union David Quinlan Wings IRE rugby union Gordon D'Arcy IRE rugby union Denis Hickie (c) IRE rugby union Simon Keogh IRE rugby union John McWeeney IRE rugby union James Norton Fullbacks IRE rugby union Girvan Dempsey IRE rugby union Peter McKenna (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Squad Celtic League 2001–02 Celtic League Pool A Pool A standings main Rugby Pool A globalrugbyresults.com no no no 3 1 LEI, ULS, GLA, LLA, SWA, BRI, PON, EBB complete 7 0 0 281 114 C 4 1 2 194 157 4 1 2 204 172 4 0 3 175 123 3 0 4 124 158 3 0 4 161 208 1 0 6 111 207 1 0 6 134 245 IRE rugby union Leinster IRE rugby union Ulster SCO Glasgow WAL Llanelli WAL Swansea WAL Bridgend WAL Pontypridd WAL Ebbw Vale Q KO KO KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage Pool A results 17 August 19:35 Leinster IRE rugby union 39–11 Report SCO Glasgow Donnybrook Stadium 4,500 Paul Adams (Wales) W 24 August 19:05 Llanelli WAL 17–19 Report IRE rugby union Leinster Stradey Park 4,000 Nigel Whitehouse (Wales) W 28 August 19:00 Leinster IRE rugby union 55–13 Report WAL Ebbw Vale Donnybrook Stadium 3,200 John Barnard (England) W 31 August 19:35 Leinster IRE rugby union 31–9 Report IRE rugby union Ulster Nigel Williams (Wales) W 8 September 19:30 Bridgend WAL 32–51 Report IRE rugby union Leinster Brewery Field 2,650 Steve Lander (England) W 11 September 19:00 Leinster IRE rugby union 52–14 Report WAL Pontypridd Donnybrook Stadium 3,056 Rob Dixon (England) W 15 September 14:30 Swansea WAL 18–34 Report IRE rugby union Leinster St Helen's 4,000 Iain Ramage (Scotland) W Quarter-final 30 November 19:35 Leinster IRE rugby union 34–22 Report WAL Newport Donnybrook Stadium 7,300 W Semi-final 7 December 19:30 Leinster IRE rugby union 35–13 Report SCO Glasgow Lansdowne Road 5,500 W Final Final 15 December 15:00 Leinster IRE rugby union 24–20 Report IRE rugby union Munster Lansdowne Road 30,000 Nigel Whitehouse (Wales) W Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Paul Wallace, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly, 6. Eric Miller, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Victor Costello, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Nathan Spooner, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 14. Denis Hickie, 15. Girvan Dempsey. Replacements: 16. Peter Coyle, 17. Gavin Hickie, 18. Bob Casey, 19. Trevor Brennan, 20 Ben Willis, 21. Peter McKenna. Heineken Cup 2001–02 Heineken Cup Pool 6 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts Ireland rugby union Leinster 6501151141391043510 WAL Newport63031713415114656 FRA Toulouse630316115158141176 ENG Newcastle 6105821−13117174−572 28 September 200119:00 Leinster IRE rugby union 40–10 FRA Toulouse Donnybrook 7,500 W Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Emmet Byrne, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly, 6. Eric Miller, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Victor Costello, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Nathan Spooner, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 14. Denis Hickie, 15. Girvan Dempsey. Replacements: Peter Coyle, Gavin Hickie, Bob Casey, Trevor Brennan. 5 October 200119:00 Leinster IRE rugby union 28–9 ENG Newcastle Falcons Donnybrook 7,500 W Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Emmet Byrne, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly, 6. Eric Miller, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Victor Costello, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Nathan Spooner, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 14. Denis Hickie, 15. Girvan Dempsey. Replacements: Adam Magro (for D'Arcy), Andy Dunne (for Spooner), Ben Willis (for O'Meara), Gavin Hickie (for S. Byrne), Peter Coyle (for E. Byrne), Bob Casey (for Cullen), Trevor Brennan (for Costello). 26 October 200119:00 Leinster IRE rugby union 21–6 WAL Newport Donnybrook 7,500 W Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Emmet Byrne, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly, 6. Eric Miller, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Victor Costello, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Nathan Spooner, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Adam Magro, 14. Denis Hickie, 15. Girvan Dempsey. Replacements: Peter McKenna, Trevor Brennan, Bob Casey. referee = 2 November 200119:05 Newport WAL 21–26 IRE rugby union Leinster Rodney Parade 10,285 W Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Emmet Byrne, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly, 6. Eric Miller, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Victor Costello, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Nathan Spooner, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 14. Simon Keogh, 15. Peter McKenna. Replacements: Adam Magro, Bob Casey, Trevor Brennan. 8 January 200219:30 Newcastle Falcons ENG 15–17 IRE rugby union Leinster Headingley Stadium 1,146 W Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Paul Wallace, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly, 6. Trevor Brennan, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Victor Costello, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Nathan Spooner, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 14. Denis Hickie, 15. Girvan Dempsey. Replacements: Ben Willis. 13 January 200214:30 Toulouse FRA 43–7 IRE rugby union Leinster Stadium Municipal 6,746 L Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Paul Wallace, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Bob Casey, 6. Trevor Brennan, 7. Victor Costello, 8. Keith Gleeson, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Brian O'Driscoll, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Adam Magro, 14. Denis Hickie, 15. Girvan Dempsey. Replacements: Simon Keogh, Ben Willis, Peter McKenna, Peter Coyle, Gavin Hickie, Aidan McCullen. Quarter-final 27 January 200215:00 Leicester Tigers ENG 29–18 Report Ireland rugby union Leinster Welford Road 16,249 L Leinster lineup: 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Paul Wallace, 4. Leo Cullen, 5. Bob Casey, 6. Eric Miller, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Victor Costello, 9. Brian O'Meara, 10. Nathan Spooner, 11. Gordon D'Arcy, 12. Shane Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 14. Denis Hickie, 15. Girvan Dempsey. Replacements: Adam Magro, Simon Keogh, Gavin Hickie, Peter Coyle, Aidan McCullen, Trevor Brennan. IRFU Interprovincial Championship IRFU Interprovincial Championship The 2001–02 IRFU Interprovincial Championship was a transitional season before the competition was superseded by the Celtic League. Pool matches between Irish provinces in the 2001–02 Celtic League counted towards the championship. The remaining Interprovincial fixtures were originally scheduled to take place in December 2001, but were postponed because IRFU director of fitness Dr. Liam Hennessy felt that the schedule, between the Celtic League, the Heineken Cup and the Autumn internationals, was too onerous and players needed a period of rest and recovery to prepare for the Six Nations.Tony Ward, "Fitness guru kicks Interpro games to touch", Irish Independent, 18 December 2001 They took place in April and May 2002.Aidan Corr, "Munster face into a hectic season", Limerick Chronicle, 24 July 2001 Team P W D LFA BPPts Statusleft Leinster 3 2 0 1 86 35 2 12 Champions; qualified for 2002–03 Heineken Cupleft Ulster 3 2 0 1 50 66 0 8 Qualified for 2002–03 Heineken Cupleft Munster 3 1 1 1 64 48 1 7 Qualified for 2002–03 Heineken Cupleft Connacht 3 0 0 3 56 107 1 1 Qualified 2002–03 European Challenge Cup 19 April 2002 Munster Munster 6–6 Reporthttps://munsterrugby.ie/match-stats/?FixGuid=01ML9776 Munster 6-6 Leinster Munster Rugby 7 June 2019Kieran Rooney, "Munster hit by new triple injury scare", Irish Independent, 20 April 2002 Leinster Leinster O'GaraHolland Spooner (2) Musgrave Park D 8 May 2002 Connacht Connacht 20-49 ReportLinley MacKenzie, "Leinster run in six tries to take interpro title from Munster", Irish Examiner, 9 May 2002 Leinster Leinster KeaneMcHugh Elwood (2) Elwood (2) CorriganKeoghMcKennaO'Driscoll (2)McCullen O'Meara (5) O'Meara (3) Galway Sportsgrounds W References 2001-02 Category:2001–02 in Irish rugby union Category:2001–02 Heineken Cup